Samy's conqueror : it feels great!
Malaysiakini.com
Mar 10, 2008
RK Anand

A 'confluence of forces' had made it possible to defeat MIC president S Samy Vellu in his stronghold, said his victor Dr D Jeyakumar. MCPX

On Saturday, the 53-year-old physician staged a major upset by knocking out the 72-year-old politician on his birthday in the contest for the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat - which the latter held since 1974.

dr jeyakumar sungai siput campaign 270208 confidentAsked how this felt, Jeyakumar replied: "It feels great!"

The Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) leader who stood under the PKR banner had contested against the MIC president and former works minister on two previous occasions.

This time around, Jeyakumar conceded that his opponent, whom he regards as formidable, had been weakened by other factors.

The PSM pro-tem central committee member also admitted that he did not expect to win. "We cannot take full credit for everything," he told Malaysiakini yesterday.

"We went in as the underdog but his (Samy Vellu) credibility had eroded terribly among the Indian voters," he said.

The MIC president's influence in the Indian community had waned in the wake of the Nov 25 rally organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).

Low-key campaign

Jeyakumar also acknowledged that Samy Vellu's campaign this time around was rather low key compared to the previous elections.

He said apart from the Hindraf factor, the work PSM had done on the ground in the constituency over the past decade as well as the hard work of the volunteers also contributed to his victory.

On top of that, he said the strong DAP candidate for the state seat and the cooperation from PAS also helped.

"The swing against BN (Barisan Nasional) was stronger than anticipated. BN has been taking the people for granted," said the PSM leader who saw an increase of support among all three races.

Jeyakumar, who is being flooded with congratulatory messages from all over the country, also revealed that he had received several death threats.

"We are concerned and are taking the necessary precautions," he said.

'We went all out'

On his plans for this term, Jeyakumar, who is still settling into his new role as a parliamentarian, replied: "I intend to bring the problems faced by the common man to Parliament."

"This elections has shown that ideology is still relevant," he added.

His wife and campaign manager R Rani said she was "delighted and overwhelmed" by the victory in what she described as "not an easy seat to win" due to the alleged underhand tactics employed by their rival.

sungai siput nominations 240208 samy flanked by ahamad and cheahHowever, the PSM pro-tem central committee member said that during the course of the campaign, there were positive vibes from all the races indicating the possibility of upstaging the incumbent.

"He (Samy Vellu) never expected to lose just like how we never expected to win," said Rani, adding that PSM "went all out" this time around.

Jeyakumar had defeated Samy Vellu with a 1,821 majority. In the 2004 polls, he lost to the MIC president by more than 10,000 votes.

Copyright © 1999-2007 Mkini Dotcom Sdn. Bhd.
Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/79530